The Elementary Theory
by Delgardo
Summary: I'm sure this has been done before but i felt like trying. Rolling a "Sherlock" and "Elementary" style take on a modern Holmes into The Big Bang Theory. Take a step back and look then the themes fit. * Two improbable room mates going on adventures. It even starts with them moving in. * An insufferable genius with an improbable name that starts with an S
1. Chapter 1

In a Starbucks in Torrance, California, the barista shouts "I've got a Venti Iced Caffe Americano for Penny?"

"Here, thanks" Penny takes the big cup with her right hand, carefully steadying it with her left and heading for a seat.

She's a tanned and blonde wearing jeans and a washed out long sleeved plaid shirt

Someone shouts "Hey Penny! Penny Watson!" across the crowd and she turns, looking for who knows her name. It's been ages since she's been here, who'd know her?

then a tall middle aged man with a surfers tan dressed in a smart jacket gets up from a table and waves.

She has a guilty start of recognition. Mike, her ex from the last year of Med school. Damn, it's a small world sometimes. He was a sweet enough guy, they'd split up because they were just going different ways when they graduated.

"It's me, Mike. Mike Stamford. Remember?"

"yeah, Hey Mike. it's been years."

He offers her a hand to shake but she gestures with her coffee. He nods and gestures to the seat opposite him "join me?". She sits with a smile of thanks, setting the big coffee down carefully. He looks her over as she slides into the chair, taking in the curve of her tight jeans, the swell of her chest as she's got the shirt buttoned low. She's in great shape, she must still be doing dance or yoga maybe. He carries on looking up to see a knowing smile and has a guilty start. Suddenly at a loss for words he pauses then says "erm, That's a beast of a coffee"

"Four shots of espresso with water over ice, packs 300mg of caffeine and only 25 calories"

"you'll not sleep for a week"

She shrugs "I don't sleep much these days"

he smile an open and easy grins "well, you're still looking good!"

She smiles a little, a sunny smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes "and so are you"

He gives a self depreciating laugh, looks down at himself. "Ah, I know, I got old and settled down. So, I heard you were abroad somewhere, putting people back together, getting shot at. What happened?  
Penny smiles awkwardly and shrugs "I got shot." She raises her left hand, he does a double take as there is something odd about it. the wrist is too stiff, the fingers too still. She gives a brittle little smile and the fingers move as one, opening slowly. Realisation hits him and he flinches, he looks surprised then awkward and embarrassed . "oh. Oh I'm sorry"

She sees the familiar look of shock and pity in his eyes. "We were in a convoy meant to be bringing supplies to KOP in Korangal valley. They had an old soviet 14.5mm heavy machine gun up on a hill, over a mile out. We never saw it until it opened up. We got pretty chewed up before the helo got them. I got med-evaced, was lucky to make it. One Round went right through the middle of my forearm while I was treating someone. he didn't make it." She shrugs "So Yeah, I'm not all the Watson you knew anymore."

There's an embarrassed pause.

To break the silence Penny asks "Are you still at The Rampart, then?  
"Harbour, yes, though I'm teaching now. Bright young things, like we used to be." He sighs "God, I hate them!

What about you? Just staying in town 'til you get yourself sorted?"

"I'm just visiting old haunts, but probably be heading East. I can't afford California on Army disability and I need to settle down to get rehab arranged" .  
" Ah, and you couldn't bear to be anywhere else. That's not the Watson I know. "  
Penny looks uncomfortable "Yeah, well I'm not all the Watson you used to know any more"  
she stops. Mike awkwardly looks away and drinks his coffee, then his brow furrows and he asks " Couldn't your family help? ".

She laughs sarcastically " yeah, that's going to happen. They're still out on the farm, I've been working my whole life to get away from that, I don't want to end up in a trailer park with three screaming kids"

"How is your sister these days?"

"She got drunk and shot her husband, hit him this time"

"So no going back there. maybe get a roommate and share a place round here?"

Penny stares into her coffee "Come on, who'd want me for a roommate?"

Mike Chuckles thoughtfully

"What?"

"you know, it's funny but you're the second person to say that to me today"

"Who was the first?"

"it's hard to explain, you'll have to meet him"


	2. Chapter 2

The laboratories in Harbour hospital are state of the art. Long well lit rooms with clean white benches filled with racks of glassware and instruments.

A tall gangly man with pale skin and short dark hair sits at a microscope, watching intently as he squeezes a few drops of a clear solution onto a dark red liquid in a Petri disk. He nods to himself at what he sees under the scope. Incongruously for the sterile white surroundings instead of a lab coat he's wearing dark slacks and a bright green t-shirt with a white logo on the chest, a circle with a horizontal bar top and bottom, symbol of the Green Lantern corps.

Mike knocks on the door then opens it and ushers Penny in. She looks around, obviously impressed.

"Wow, very different from my day"

Mike smiles, pleased she's impressed. "Oh, you have no idea. I'll show you the new spectrometer next"

The man in the green shirt glances across at them briefly before looking at his work again. Still looking through the microscope he asks "Mike, could I borrow your phone? No signal on mine"

Mike looks puzzled "What's wrong with the land line?"

"I prefer to text."

Mike makes a show of checking his pockets. "Sorry, it's in my coat".

Penny smiles, knowing Mike probably did that deliberately so he wasn't disturbed at lunch. She fishes in the back pocket of her jeans and takes out her phone "You can use mine"

He blinks at her, as if he only just noticed her "Oh, thank you"

Mike introduces them with a dramatic wave of his arm "Penny, this is Sheldon. Sheldon, this is an old friend of mine, Penny Watson"

Penny gives him a cheery "Hi" and hands him her phone. A moment later she realises something and goes to take it back to unlock it but Sheldon unlocks it with a sweep of his thumb. She's taken aback "how did you?"

"shouldn't really use your initial as your screen lock"

"Oh"

He scrolls around, finds text and turns away as he starts to type. Over his shoulder he asks " Afghanistan or Iraq?"

Penny frowns and glares at Mike who just shrugs and smiles knowingly. "I'm sorry?" she says, face serious.

"Your arm, Which was it – Afghanistan or Iraq?"

"Afghanistan. Sorry, how did you know ...?"

he glances up from the phone " and what is the sixth noble gas?"  
Penny stares at him open mouthed. "What are you on about? Noble gas? erm.. Radon?"

"Are you asking me? or telling me?"

she glances at the periodic table on the wall "Radon. The sixth is Radon."  
"Very good. So, How do you feel about video games?  
"I'm sorry, what?  
He hits send and puts her phone down while typing on a keyboard. "I play video games when I'm thinking or bored, which is a lot. Sometimes I don't talk for days on end. I also have a large collection of science fiction and comics memorabilia." He looks round " Would that bother you? Potential roommates should know the worst about each other. "

He hands her back her phone and she looks blankly at him then looks at Mike "You told him about me?"

Mike shakes his head " Not a word"

Penny turns back to Sheldon "Then who said anything about roommates?"

Sheldon picks up his jacket and puts it on " Obviously, I did. I came over this morning to use the laboratory and mentioned that my current roommate was moving out. I told Mike that I would be a difficult man to find a new roommate for and now here he is just after lunch with a smug grin and an old friend, clearly just out of hospital after returning from military service in Afghanistan." He shrugs " Wasn't that difficult a leap."

"But How _did_ you know about Afghanistan?"

Sheldon ignores the question, picks up his mobile and checks it.

"More importantly, which do you prefer, Kirk or Picard?"

"What's that got to do with this?" Penny sighs then ponders that one "Oh, well, that's tricky. I'd have to say Picard over Kirk, but Original Series over Next Generation,

Sheldon nods approvingly "Correct. Congratulations, You've passed the barriers to roommate-hood. I've a place in Pasadena, We'll meet there tomorrow evening; seven o'clock."

Penny frowns " Is that it?"  
 _"_ Is that what?"  
" We've only just met and we're going to go and look at your apartment?"  
"Why, Is that a problem?"

Penny just looks at him in disbelief. "We don't know a thing about each other; I don't know where we're meeting; I don't even know your full name."  
Sheldon turns and fixes her with his full attention, which is suddenly worryingly intense "I know Mike knows and trusts you enough to introduce us as prospective roommates, and he's a good judge of character. I know you're an Army doctor and you've been invalided home from Afghanistan. I know you've got a family who's worried about you but you won't go to them for help and a brother who's a drug addict who recently was sent to jail."

Penny stares at him open mouthed.

he smiles smugly "That's enough to be going on with, don't you think?"

He walks to the door then stops, turns and says "The name's Sheldon Holmes and the address is 221B North Los panadero Avenue, Apartment 4A"

He winks at Penny, grins at Mike and gives him a thumbs up then heads off.  
Penny turns and looks at Mike in disbelief. Mike smiles and nods to her "Yeah. He's always like that."

Back in her Motel room, Penny checks the messages on her phone. The last message sent reads:

Blood not human.

If brother has dog,

arrest brother.  
SH

Puzzled, she looks at the message for a long moment, then looks across to the table where her pink laptop is set up. She brings up Google and types "Sheldon Holmes" into the search box...


	3. Chapter 3

Penny gets out of a cab outside 221B North Los panadero Avenue at 2 minutes to seven that evening.

The building is a six storey apartment block, from Google she knows each floor has two apartments; one smaller single and one larger with two bedrooms. It'd be out of her price range to even get the single but sharing the double would be certainly possible.

At precisely Seven Sheldon opens the apartment door, smiling at her punctuality.

" Ah, Mr Holmes."  
"Sheldon, please."  
"Well, this is a prime spot. Very nice indeed."

"My thoughts precisely. I'll show you the apartment"

They take the elevator up to the 4th floor and he shows her into 4A. The main living room is mostly bare, apart from a few odd items, a twisted mess of cables and power leads, a big TV and two lawn chairs.

"Very nice. Spacious. Only two chairs?"

"How many more do you need?"

She goes to move one and Sheldon jumps "Oh, that's mine."

She looks between the two tattered lawn chairs" What's the difference?"

He lovingly repositions the chair and sits in it " This seat is ideally located both in relation to the heat source in the winter and a cross breeze in the summer. It also faces the television at a direct angle allowing me to immerse myself in entertainment or game play without being subjected to conversation. As a result, I've placed this spot in a state of eternal dibs.

" Can you do that?"

" Cathedra mea, regulae meae. My chair, my rules."

She shrugs. "Fine by me". Looking around she frowns at the metal frame against the wall that's covered in padlocks. In the window is a bank of high voltage fuses and a bust of napoleon. In a box in the corner is a large white object...

" That's a skull."  
Sheldon shrugs "Friend of mine. Well, when I say 'friend' ... "

"And are those bullet holes in the wall?"  
"that was for an experiment"

She gives a long drawn out "okay" and goes to check the bedrooms.

One door is open and she can see the room is empty, so she assumes it's hers. She walks in and stops, stunned. In huge red letters someone has written 'DIE SHELDON DIE' on the wall.

behind her Sheldon says "You may want to repaint a bit"

"Have a falling out with your roommate?"

"we did have a difference of opinions over a few things"

They both pause, embarrassed.

Penny coughs "So, I looked you up on the internet last night. I found your website, The Science of Deduction."

Sheldon smiles proudly "So, what did you think"

Penny gives him a "you've got to be kidding me" look and Sheldon looks hurt.

"Come on, seriously? you're say are a Caltech Theoretical Physicist who's some sort of private detective in his spare time? You said you could identify a software designer by his tie and an airline pilot by his left thumb. I know the police don't consult amateurs."

"I'm not a private detective, I'm a _consulting_ detective. Only one in the world. I invented the job."  
 _"consulting_ detective?"

" Yes; just as I can read your military career in your face and your arm, and your brother's personal habits in your mobile phone."  
She looks doubtful "How?"

" When I met you for the first time yesterday, I said, "Afghanistan or Iraq?" You looked surprised."  
"Yes, how _did_ you know?"  
" I didn't know, I saw. the way you hold yourself, your habit of checking the corners and exits when you walk into a room, that says active service in the military. But your conversation as you entered the room said trained at Harbour, so Army doctor – obvious. Your face has a heavy desert tan but with a tan line at the neck and wrist so You've been abroad, but wearing a uniform , not sunbathing. the tan is faded, so indoors a while recently. Wounded in action, then. Wounded in action, suntan – Afghanistan or Iraq. Then there's your brother.  
"My Brother?"

He holds out his hand "May I have your phone?"

She hands him her phone and he turns it over and over as he talks

 _"_ Your phone. Well, it's not your phone is it? it's a new phone, you're not used to it. You forgot to unlock it when you let me use it.

It's an iPhone, the new model, hardly 6 months old. It's expensive but you're looking for a roommate – you wouldn't waste money on this. It's a gift, then.

yet scratches from being in a pocket with keys and coins. The woman opposite me wouldn't treat a luxury item like that, so it's had a careless previous owner recently, who gives a second hand phone? Family. you were given it recently by a family member. Address book only has a few numbers, all family. Phone was recently restored to factory settings.

Could be your fathers but no, this is a young man's gadget. _Could_ be a cousin, but you're a war hero who can't find a place to live. Unlikely you've got an extended family, certainly not one you're close to, so a brother it is. It's in black with white gold, an overtly masculine style suitable for a more juvenile minded male. Younger Brother.

It has several sticker marks on the back, where pawn shop tags had been. Previous owner was someone who's fortunes change rapidly and often needs ready cash then has lots of cash to get it back.

The small barcode sticker on the bottom is an evidence tag so the owner has been arrested in the state of Nebraska, which matches the accent you so charmingly try to hide.

On the back are a pattern like tiny pin marks, but they're not pin pricks, they're tiny burns. Someone ignited something, probably a flammable vapour, while mixing a flammable powder, causing a small flash over. You see it a lot when someone ignites the ether vapour when freebasing cocaine, but more often recently it's petrol vapour when adding the red phosphorous to make crystal meth from pseudo ephedrine. So this phone was face down on a table where someone made meth. Not face up, expecting a call like a dealer, face down so as not to be disturbed. the chemist."

"Then there's this" He points to the base of the phone "The charger hole has lots of scuff marks and a part bent pin, so not a careful man. Hands jitter and shake, could be drink but this scratch says force and repetition. You never see those marks on a sober man's phone; never see a junkies without them. So, drug maker, drug user, drug dealer, it's your brothers, but he's in jail."

he hands the phone back " You're right, the police don't consult amateurs."

he looks smug "How did I do?"

Penny looks awestruck "That ... was amazing."

Sheldon smiles "Do you think so?"  
"Of _course_ it was. It was extraordinary, quite extraordinary."

"And that is what I do"


	4. Chapter 4

Penny closed her closet door and gave a happy sigh. All her stuff was in and put away, not that she had much these days, she liked to travel light. Clothes on the rail, underwear in the drawers, shoes in the closet. She had never been tidy growing up, her teenage room had used the floor as a wardrobe, but med school and the army had changed her. It hadn't been an easy change but it had been her only real ticket off the farm and away from the dead end life of her siblings. Her brother had squandered his gift for science into cooking meth and a jail term, her sister alternated fits of extreme drunken violence with pumping out babies.

She'd been handed the same cards as them, smart, drunk, violent, but had decided to try a different path. She had been just a teen when a month of hard partying and bad drugs had screwed her menstrual cycle up so bad she had been seriously late and had to take a pregnancy test. It had been negative but it had make her take a long hard look at her life, all the other girls who had been in the corn queens court were already pregnant, talking about dropping out of school and getting a trailer home with their dead beat boyfriends.

That week she handed in her first A at school.

Her friends accused her of blowing the class nerd to get the answers, but she had scored higher than him. She cut the drinking, the partying and started running. She hit the books as she rapidly outclassed her teachers, most of whom were just going through the motions. She had the drive and ability but the biggest hurdle had been money. The recruiting officer had just stared at her when she walked in but as soon as he saw her scores he'd signed her up and Uncle Sam had covered the rest.

She took a matt black metal box from her bag. It was a keyless gun safe, she didn't know how Sheldon felt about guns but she wasn't leaving hers . She slid her right hand into the slot in the side, pushing in so it could read the lengths of her fingers as the combination. With a near silent click it unlocked, pushing her pistol up into her waiting hand.

It was a compact pistol, a Springfield EMP4 Contour with a 9 round single stack magazine so the grip wasn't too thick, she had small hands and a double stack would have needed a two handed grip .

It had been heavily modified for one handed use. The biggest trouble was the reload so the mag release was resprung and the mag-well flared to guide the new magazine in easily.

Working the slide was always going to be a problem so she'd had a gunsmith weld a metal ring onto the back of the slide and a small wheel onto the side. Now she could cock it by hooking the ring on a finger from her left arm or by pushing the side wheel down on her belt.

She laid out a clean cloth on the bed and stripped and oiled the gun then reassembled it, loaded and cocked it then returned it to the safe, which she carefully stowed in her nightstand.

She then unbuttoned her shirt and took it off. As Holmes had noted, her skin was tan but paler. She wore a plain functional bra that didn't quite match her skin tone, she'd been quite busty in her teens, even considered getting a boob job and starting an acting career like her ex Kurt had dreamed, but exercise had firmed her up and she had slimmed down to B. She'd looked Kurt up a few days ago, he had never become the action hero and he hadn't the skill or nerve for the stunt work he'd wanted to do. Instead he was now a bouncer at a night club, just a small time drug dealer and a gym hard-body, all whitened teeth, toned abs and fake tan. Hardly living the dream.

Strapped across her chest was the harness for her left arm. She carefully unbuckled it and worked her arm free. The mechanical part started a few inches down from her elbow joint but the socket had a fabric sleeve that fitted up over her upper arm.

She rolled it down, flexing her bicep. The sleeve had a mesh of electrodes that measured muscle movements in her upper arm, she methodically checked over the skin of her upper arm, looking for pressure sores.

She could feel the small hard lumps of the implanted sensors under her skin. Checked each in turn. They were experimental, a newly de-classified development from DARPA the defence research people, only part Mad science

She tensed her bicep and the prosthetic hand clenched, even though it wasn't worn any more. That always creeped her out, the arm was sensative enough to feel her move over a few inches gap.

Then she set about cleaning and servicing her arm, checking all the joints over. The original project model had been called LUKE but this was a prototype she was testing for them, female proportioned and with a realistic sleeve toned to match her skin. Though, as Sheldon had noticed, she had a tan line on her right wrist. It even had finger nails. The technicians had dubbed it LUCY as it was the first of her kind, and over the last few months of her physiotherapy they d become good friends.

Putting the batteries to charge off the mains she picked up her robe and wash bag and headed for the bathroom.

In the short corridor she heard voices. Sheldon discussing something?

Bathroom, locked the door and stripped off, looking forward to a long hot shower. She didn't think Sheldon was the sort of creep to spy on her but to be sure she'd already checked the place over with an IR torch to spot camera lenses. She was surprised to have found one, hidden inside a hollowed out copy of Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard on the book shelf, pointed at the front door and set up to be triggered by motion. Sensible precaution.

She stretched out, standing up on tiptoe. She was lean and toned, Her legs were long and well muscled, tan skin with a quarter size puckered scar on her thigh.

She touched the scar, then its brothers on her hip, side and bicep. She still remembered the explosion that started the ambush, the lead vehicle vanishing in a cloud of smoke and thunder. She had caught a few fragments but only minor wounds, her vest and helmet stopped several bits of metal shrapnel that could have proved fatal.

She shuddered then willed herself to relax. Her therapist called it hyperarousal, it was like constantly being on an adrenaline high, always looking out for danger and you burned out quickly, ending up exhausted but edgy and unable to sleep. She started to work through a yoga routine, tensing and relaxing her muscles, willing the anxiety down. A long hot shower would be just the thing.

She got the water going easy enough into the tub but no matter how she tried it wouldn't switch to shower. She tried all the knobs and dials with no success, cursing under her breathe in Pashto.

She caught the frustration, breathed through it. Don't get frustrated. Just go and ask.

She slips back into her robe and pads barefoot into the living room.

"Hey Sheldon, Is there a trick to getting it to switch from tub to shower?"

Sheldon is sat in his spot, looking over some papers. Sat next to him is a short rumpled looking man with dark hair and glasses. The stranger jumps to his feet and she started, clutched her robe tighter closed, turning her left shoulder away from him, making her a smaller profile target and hiding her empty sleeve. Instinct tells her the nearest weapon is a paperweight on the windowsill and the knives are in the kitchen area.

The stranger has the wide eyed look of a deer in headlights "Er... hi." He stumbled.

"Hi" she says back, willing a smile onto her face. he's a friend of Sheldon's, no need to panic.

He glances at Sheldon who is still engrossed in the papers "you didn't tell me you had company""

"I don't. Please meet my new roommate, Doctor Penny Watson. Penny, This is Detective Leonard Hofstadter.

Leonard fidgets with his hair. "Hi" he looks panicced and says "Hi" again.

It's Penny's turn to say "Er.. Hi" then the glances at Sheldon

Leonard stutters "He said a Doctor but I didn't expect..."

Sheldon sighs and puts the papers down. "I'm sorry to say the shower is temperamental. Leonard, sit down, I'll be right back"

he heads to the bathroom "There's a trick to it, I'll show you." Once in the bathroom he mutters "I must apologise for Detective Hofstadter, he usually has a modicum of intelligence but it appears the presence of an attractive woman robs him of that"

He gets the shower running and leaves her to her shower, closing the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

They settled into a daily routine. Penny had regular physiotherapy and kept up a gym routine as well as seeing a therapist but it wasn't enough to keep her busy all the time. She tried to explore the area but until she was ready to drive an automatic she wasn't mobile enough to properly explore, walking was good as it took time and tired her out but strange places looked familiar and popular places had too many people.

Most days she was awake before dawn from fragmented and panicked dreams, watching the charge light flash on her arm in its cradle as the grey light of dawn crept in the window. She'd get a strange phantom itch on her arm, one she couldn't scratch.

One night she was sitting on her bed, lost in thought. She could hear Sheldon shuffling about the apartment, he was an ideal roommate really, utterly absorbed in whatever he did, covering boards with symbols of a higher mathematics that she didn't understand a word of, occasionally disappearing at strange hours.

She listened as his footsteps went past her door. She had told him she needed to be left alone and he'd just nodded, accepting it without question. She felt the sudden need for a human connection, wanted to talk but knew it would it wouldn't work, how could he understand? She heard his door close, the moment passed.

Then Tap tap tap on the wall between the bedrooms

Tap

G

Tap pause. Tap pause. Tap pause.

O

Tap pause. Tap pause. Tap pause.

O

Tap pause. Tap. Tap.

D

Tap pause. Tap

N

Tap Tap

I

Tap pause Tap pause Tap

G

Tap Tap Tap Tap

H

Tap pause

T

Penny smiled. Maybe he could understand.

She replied. THANKS. GOOD NIGHT. and curled up for a fitful few hours sleep

She woke with a start. There had been a loud noise. a crash, metal and plastic, a cry of pain. Her hand went into her side table, click of the gun safe and her gun was in her hand. her room was light, sunny, sun was already up but it was still early morning.

She was sleeping in shorts and a vest top, so she rolled out of bed, bare feet on carpet, listening for danger.

No sounds of other people, no fighting.

She opened her door with her left elbow, gun held back and ready at her waist. In movies they hold guns way out in front, but in close quarters that just gets them grabbed.

The short hallway was empty. There was a muffled curse and a crackle of plastic from the closed bathroom door.

She tapped on it

"Sheldon?" You ok?"

a muffled voice answers "I...I could use some assistance.."

she frowned at the edge of pain in his voice.

Stepping back she kicked the door hard, right where she knew the bolt was and it flew open

Inside the shower rail was down, Sheldon was lying sprawled naked in the tub, tangled up in the shower curtain. Through clenched teeth he explains "I fell ... and I seem to have dislocated my shoulder."

Penny puts her gun down on the toilet, careful it's safe and where she can see it, not by the door so someone coming in can take it.

"Let me see." She looks him over with a practised eye. he's tall and rangy but scrawny and painfully thin, long arms and long fingers like a pianist, clenched in pain. Long legs, hardly any muscle to them. Not much body hair. Skin the pale of things that live in caves or under stones, the geeks who rarely see the sunlight. She was surprised to see he had a tattoo on his shoulder, a complex pattern around a coiled snake eating its own tail.

She can't help but giving his junk a professional glance, looks normal, kind of shrunken from the pain and cold, but he was circumcised and clearly a grower. Feeling his shoulder with her hand she can feel the shoulder joint is dislocated, probing it doesn't seem to be badly damaged, nothing broken.

"Yes, it's dislocated. I can put it back, but let's get you out of the tub first. "

She hooks him with her arm, lifting him. She's surprised how little he weighs for his height. He seems unsteady on his feet, just the pain keeping him conscious. Suspicious, she pokes him, pinching his skin. hardly any fat, wasted muscles, skin pale and inelastic. Dehydration and maybe borderline malnutrition?

"Christ man, When did you last eat?"

"Can't remember, I've been busy thinking."

"Too busy to eat?"

Out of the tub he slumps to the floor.

"Ok, we need to get you to the emergency room. they can give you a shot and put it back properly"

"No! no painkillers." he's suddenly summoned up a reserve of desperate energy.

She looks shocked by his vehemence "What?"

He holds out his arms, turned up, showing her a mess of scars on the inside of his elbows. Track marks of intravenous drug use.

she looks surprised. "So that's why you always wear long sleeved T-shirts" He seemed so clean living and geeky. "how?"

"I had a problem. When I came out West I promised my mother I'd not experiment with drugs, but even with my work I was left alone with the thoughts in my head a lot." He shudders "You know how your thoughts can spiral in on themselves?"

She shuddered in reply and nodded.

"I have unusually acute senses and a near perfect memory, so everything is more intense for me. a punishing drumbeat of constant input. I see patterns and connections that keep drawing my thoughts to very negative places. I have to keep myself active or distracted or bad things happen. When I was a child as a distraction I made my own working nuclear reactor, using smoke detectors for the radioactive source. I was in negotiations with an African dictator for yellowcake uranium when the Government caught up and stopped me"

He shakes his head.

"When I came to Caltech I was busy for a few weeks, as it was all wonderful and new. Then I started to lose focus, to get bored. I needed a distraction. Well, I found a solution in diamorphine."

"Heroin?"

"Yes, heroin. Though I experimented with all sorts of things it worked the best and so I developed quite an habit. But then I got caught up in several police cases, nothing of note, but I found I could see things the police could not. I helped Leonard solve his case and I found a better distraction than the drugs. Crime!"

"You solve crimes to stop yourself being bored?"

"I solve crime to stop myself gazing into the abyss of my inevitable demise and the darkness that may follow"

"Now that's a happy thought"

"Indeed. Now, if you would be so good as to tend to my shoulder?"

"Without drugs this is going to hurt."

he nods. "I understand."

She gets behind him, knee on his back, wraps her arm round his shoulder and pulls. The joint shifts and then pops back, making Sheldon wince and cry out.

"Ok, can you move it for me?"

He swings his arm carefully. "Movement is ok, still sore."

"You should really get a scan on it, make sure you didn't chip the bone."

"If it doesn't heal as it should, I will"

She drops a towel into his lap and stands up. "Ok, be stubborn. Dry yourself off, I am making you breakfast and you're going to eat it, doctors orders!"

Sherlock draws himself up a breakfast rota and sticks it on the refrigerator for her approval. He makes a point of getting up and making breakfast, eating it while watching her nurse a strong black coffee.

This morning She's curled up on the sofa, long tan legs drawn up, holding the cup with both hands.

His phone pings and he reads the screen with mounting excitement.

"Yes! Yes! yes!" He jumps up and grabs his jacket, mouth still full.

he's half way to the door when he stops, flexing his shoulder in memory.

"Penny, You're still a doctor aren't you? In fact you're an Army doctor."

"Well, Yes. " She looks at him, amused. He's obviously mentally going at high speed in three directions at once.

he flexes his shoulder again. "A good one too. Seen a lot of injuries, then; violent deaths? "

She nods and answers quietly " Of course, yes. Enough for a lifetime. Far too much."

He grins a lopsided grin "I've got a case. Possibility of some Mayhem and death. May be dangerous. Certainly interesting. Fancy coming along? I could use a medical opinion"

She looks surprised, then grins "Oh God yes!" She jumps up, knocking back the last of her coffee.

She's been for her morning run, so is just wearing leggings and a sports top. She looks down "give me five minutes to get changed"

"Ok, I'll order a car, meet you downstairs!"


	6. Chapter 6

They get out of the Uber at a modern looking building on the coast.

Sheldon is in an excited and talkative mood "ah, the Ironies of Uber . it used to be children were told, "Don't meet strangers from the internet" and "Don't get into strangers cars" now we have an App to summon strangers from the internet so we can get into their cars"

he gets out and hands the driver a $20. "here's a tip. Also, if you try the fake vomit trick you're planning I'll tell your wife you're having an affair, understand?"

The driver goes wide eyed, grabs the twenty and drives off in a hurry

"How did you?" she gestures at the rapidly vanishing car

"the car smelt of apple sauce"

"oh, of course"

" 'My method is founded upon the observation of trifles. the commonest con amongst unscrupulous Uber drivers is to fake a customer vomiting, usually using foodstuffs, and charge hundreds of dollars for cleanup. He had a shopping bag of suitable condiments in the passenger foot well."

"From which you guessed he's done it before and he'd try it again?"

"Not guessed, deduced."

"and the affair?"

"he'd taken his wedding ring off and put it in the ashtray. Not the action of a faithful man"

Penny nods "true. "

Sheldon rubs his hands. "So, shall we see what today brings?"

They walk up to the house, where crime scene techs are taping off the door.

One turns and shouts into the house "The freak is here!"

An annoyed looking man with a detectives badge comes to the door "You again? Look, this is a crime scene. I don't want it contaminated. Are we clear on that?"  
Sheldon stares at him "as crystal"

"And who's this?"

"Detective Anderson, may I present my friend and associate, Dr Penny Watson"

"What? you don't have friends!" He turns to Penny "Is he paying you? threatening you?"

Sheldon scoffs and pushes past him.

Penny smiles "Don't worry, I'm fine"

She follows into the house. Everything is decorated in white, silver and pale wood, with large windows facing out to sea that let in a lot of light. It makes the house seem clean and almost sterile.

Sheldon stops dead, sniffing the air. He shudders, then carries on.

In the centre of the main room, Detective Hofstadter is standing next to a man sprawled in a white leather armchair. The Man is wearing a white polo shirt and tennis shorts and around his left arm a strap is tied tightly, in his right is a syringe. His head is back, eyes open and bloodshot, lips speckled with foam.

Hofstadter explains "The Cleaner found him first thing this morning. She said He had a reputation of being very demanding about his cleaning, everything had to be spotlessly clean and exactly the right place but he paid very well"

"His name is Simon Helberg, he's an investment banker. Recently made a lot of high profit trades, was on the way to making junior partner but was also under investigation for suspicions of dodgy dealing, possible insider trading. " Hofstadter shrugs "Looks like an overdose."

"Looks can be deceptive, detective."

"That's why I called you. This looks like an overdose but it seems way out of character for the deceased."

Taking out a latex glove Sheldon examined the lighter and spoon on the low table next to the chair.

"Cooked heroin. The smell is quite distinctive"

Penny looks at his carefully. He recognised the smell as soon as he walked in the door.

"Penny, your medical opinion?"

She puts on latex gloves and looks the dead man over carefully

"Well, I've not seen an opiate overdose before, but symptoms seem to match what I've read. Pinpoint pupils, respiratory depression causing choking and suffocation" she points to the foam on his lips.

"Hmm. Interesting." she turned his arm. "Old track mark scars, plus several new marks. I've read about this, drug users building up a tolerance while they're using so they take larger and larger doses but then they lose the tolerance when they get clean. if they start using again at their old dosage their body now can't tolerate it and they overdose. "

"Certainly that's what it looks like." Sheldon checks the dead man over again carefully "But, see here - a small red semi circle on his forehead and here, red abrasions on two of his right knuckles."

He stands suddenly

"Mind if I have a look around?" he asked rhetorically, already on his way into the victims kitchen. Opening drawers, checking the refrigerator, trying to get a sense of the person. Penny follows him as he explains "Our choices, day after day, build up into a very detailed picture of our personality."

He goes into the Bedroom, opening closets and drawers, into the bathroom, checking the toiletries then back into the main room and He frowned, looking round the room again.

"What are you thinking?"

"Something doesn't add up."

Walking to the front door he turned and looked into the room. "Ah!" He pounced on the table near the door, carefully inspecting the bowl with keys and things in it and the vase of dried flowers next to it.

"See, symmetry everywhere. But this bowl is off centre. "

Dropping down to lie on the floor he looked under the furniture, producing a small glass pebble.

" this matches the three others in the bowl. "

"So, he dropped one."

"Also, notice several of the flowers seem shorter? " He lifts them out, pointing to the broken stems "They were damaged, then put back in the vase."

He stands in the middle of the room, pointing as he talks

"Pictures all have him in the centre. He has a whole drawer of expensive watches. Fine cut of well aged steak in butchers paper in the refrigerator. This apartment is a Shrine to his own ego."

"More than just vanity, this is verging on sociopathy"

he takes the soot stained spoon and sniffs.

"Why would someone of his wealth and epicurian tastes use badly cut street heroin that has been stepped on at least twice?"

"He was surprised at the door. He opened it, so it was someone he knew but didn't get on with, as he didn't invite them in. the fight started at the door. The attacker was strong and skilled, as the victim was in good physical condition and from the karate gi and belt in his wardrobe knew some martial arts for self defence. "

"The table by the door was knocked as they moved into the lounge. Scratches on the floor show this chair was moved, but then the fight ends. From the mark on the victims forehead of a gun muzzle being pressed to it I would say here the attacker had chance to pull his gun and order the victim to the chair.

The attacker then produced the drug paraphernalia and made him shoot up at gun point "

"So it's Murder"

"yes. You can see he was expecting trouble, there is a backpack in his wardrobe containing two changes of clothing, a first aid kit, travel toiletries, a burner phone, protein bars and a folding knife. it's next to his safe, I'll lay good odds that when you open that he'll have a bag ready to go in there with his ID and ready cash in it. probably a weapon as well "

"A bug out bag?"

"yes, he can just open the safe, pull out the bag, drop it into the backpack and go"

"Looks like it didn't save him"

"No, it seems he wasn't expecting this trouble... He had probably gotten wind of your investigating his illegal trading. this was something else"

He looks around again. "Pictures. yes, the pictures"

he picks up a picture frame from the side table near the body. It shows a group of five friends, the victim with two other men and two women. "They all are recent and have him in the centre. This is older and he's to the side" He opens the frame and takes out the photo carefully. behind it is a picture of the victim, smiling smugly. He holds up the photo of the group.

"The killer left this here."

Examining it carefully, he continues

"it's creased and dog eared, it was kept folded and carried around."

On the back is a word, in wide looped handwriting.

Penny looks at it, frowning "RACHE? it looks like it said Rachel but the L was on the fold and wore away"

"This had meaning to the killer" Sheldon lays it down on the table and snaps a picture with his phone.

"Detective, the killers prints may be on this. We need to identify everyone in this picture, One is most likely Rachel, another is our victim here. It's clear they're all connected, one of these may be the killer and the others may be future victims"


	7. Chapter 7

Outside, Sheldon surveys the house.

"Penny, from your military experience, if you were going to attack someone in a house, you would first perform reconnaissance, would you not?"

"Sure, you'd want to know how many people were in the house, if they were armed." She looks over the house. "You're thinking the killer checked the place over before he rang the door?"

"I'm sure of it"

He starts to circle the house, checking the ground carefully. "Our victims ego and large windows put much of the house on show from this immaculately maintained garden"

he points to the soft earth around the lawn. "Footprints are mostly from a size 9 sports shoe, rather worn and with a marked inward turn I put down to vitamin D deficiency in early life. No doubt the stereotypical Mexican gardener. " He crouches down and carefully moves aside a low bush.

"But here is an area of freshly disturbed earth, as if from someone covering their tracks. They manage to obscure all but a fraction of a imprint but the tread is quite distinctive. This was a Bates waterproof combat boot, size 11, worn by a man approximately six feet tall and weighing a good 170 pounds. "

Penny frowns "Bates? that's the Marine corps issue combat boot. Do you think the killer was military?"

Sheldon shrugs. "Military, Ex military or a similar security profession, or possibly just someone attracted to the mythos and machismo of the Marine Corps.

"So a marine or a marine groupie? If they've had military hand to hand combat training that explains how they could beat the victim down so quickly"

Sheldon places an evidence marker by the footprint and gestures an officer over.

"Either way, it's a start"

They walk back to the driveway where their Uber is pulling up.

Back at the apartment, Sheldon starts pinning photos to the wall. he prints copies of the photo, front and back, and of the boot print. He starts labelling things, adding post it notes and scrawled arrows. he sets up white boards and starts listing possible suspects.

He studies the photo in detail.

"Interesting. On the surface, five friends out having a good time. But when you study the body language you start to see a very different dynamic to the group.

Simon off to the left, is Subject one. He has a rather predatory interest in the Unknown blonde haired woman next to him we shall call Subject two, who could be Rachel.

then a dark haired man. Man in the middle has Bad teeth, expensive jewellery, bad skin, expensive shirt. The look says small time dealer.

Unknown dark haired woman is Subject Four. Very drunk and leaning on Subject Five.

Unknown Fifth is a man, tallest of the group. hair buzz cut very short

See how he's got his arm around four? he thinks they're still a couple. But she's looking more towards three in the middle, who has a hand on her hip.

Notice how all have a lower than average body fat? slight sunken look to eyes and cheeks? and, most tellingly look at their irises."

Penny looks closely. "All are big, which would make sense in a dark club. But this is a flash photo, they should be pinpricks."

"They're all very drunk and high. Habitual drug users, all of them. On a mixture of substances as well, mostly stimulants, which is usually a sign they have connections or money."

"Well, we know Simon had money. Maybe he was buying himself some friends?"

"very possible"

The Next morning, Penny stirred. She'd actually slept deeply for a few hours, a welcome change. She realised she was stretched out on the sofa, covered with a blanket. Looking round she sees the wall has grown into a sprawling mural of papers and notes and Sheldon is still hunched over the computer, typing away.

Without looking up he points at the table in front of her, where a gently steaming mug sits.

"Coffee"

"that was good of you"

He nods "I know " She snorts with sleepy laughter.

He continues "I wished to rouse you but avoid the threatened pre-11am throat punch"

"You found something?"

He nods and gestures to the screen "I maintain a network of online contacts who I occasionally reach out to for information. I term them the "Irregulars" as they are useful but erratic. Certain message boards online cater to the unusual and obsessive, What the Japanese term otaku. One group of which call themselves Anonymous, after the 4Chan boards habit of imagining that everyone who posted Anonymously was in fact the same secretive but prolific user. These reprobates enjoy finding information and catching criminals "for the lulz" . Mostly tormenting online paedophiles and spam emailers, but I've cultivated a forum for ones who enjoy a good puzzle. "

He covers the computers webcam with his hand and adds

"Don't let them see you, they also have a current obsession with attractive women putting sharpie markers in their anuses and sending them pictures. The current record on is 16 and I do not wish to see a demand for a challenge to that."

Penny raises a surprised eyebrow.

"People actually DO that?"

"You'd be surprised what people will do for internet fame"

She shudders. "No, I've seen the thing with the girls and the cup"

"So, what have you found out?"

"Well, the gig appears to have been an EDM dance duo using the name Ulthar Kats at a club called 'Shard Boulevard' five years ago. Both the duo and club are sadly no more."

"So that's a dead end"

"Luckily the internet never forgets. A member of Anonymous has managed to hack the bands mailing list and fan club site for me ." He waves a handful of print outs.

"A Rachel Gilbert is on the list, and gave a local address for tickets. An address she shared with a Mellissa Rauch." He produces print outs of a driving license and police report. The face matches number Two in the photo. "Melissa was arrested for possession of narcotics 4 years ago, along with a Kevin Sussman"

he points to another print out of a driving license.

"Which puts a name to the face of number Three, the dealer"

"look who paid bail for them. "

Penny looks over the report "Rachel Gilbert. Looks like those three were pretty tight. So what happened to the charges? "

"They got off on a technicality. Improper search and seizure. I'm assuming someone, probably Simon, paid for a good Lawyer who ripped the police case apart with ease"

"So, what happened to Rachel?"

Sheldon sighs and hands over a manilla folder.

"Three years ago she died from a heroin overdose. In the space of two months there were 8 other heroin related deaths, several from overdoses with unusually pure heroin, others from complications of heroin cut with amphetamines, fentanyl, talc and baking soda. "

Penny pulls a disgusted face. "That'll kill you alright"

"Yes, the police narcotics department note that dealers were spreading word of a 'Bad Brick' going round, a shipment that had been contaminated."

"Now, the Boot print. You know the Military, how long do you serve for?

Penny ponders "well, when you join up you first get Basic, which is the ten week Basic combat training program. After than you split by forces, the Marines have a 13 week Advanced Individual Training course. after that you're combat ready, you serve in 4 year tours of duty."

"So one tour would be 4 years, 23 weeks total. basically four and a half years. Which fits perfectly"

he draws a time line

"I think the key here is Subject five. he's the more physically fit, plus has his pseudo military haircut. We have the party where the photo was taken, the drug arrest, Rachel's death and then the delay and Simons death."

"so you think Rachel split up with Five for Kevin? And so Five joined up to get away from it all?"

"And he's recently come back and started looking up old friends"

"He's going to kill Kevin and Mellissa when he finds them!"

"Then we need to find them first. We have no current address for Kevin but Melissa Rauch is now Melissa Prady and has a current address." he points to another print out. "If you would care to drink up and get ready, we can pay her a visit"


	8. Chapter 8

The car drops them off outside a rundown apartment building in a seedier area of town, quite a contrast from the hills where Heldberg had lived. Sheldon heads in with the confidence of someone completely oblivious to danger but Penny halts, feeling her heart rate rise. Tight corridors, dim light, the sound of people shouting, the smells of cooking food and trash cans that have been left in the heat. There's the thunder of footsteps and two children burst from the door and crash past them, running down the steps to the sidewalk and away, screaming in Spanish. Penny flinches.

Sheldon stops in the doorway, his usual blank face twists with concern for a moment. "Too much?"

Penny breathes slowly, willing the panic down. She checks her belt, her gun holstered in the small of her back under her plaid shirt. running through the routine calms her. She presses two fingers to the skin of her left forearm and LED's light up under the skin, 6 green lights in a row, plenty of charge.

"it's Ok. I'm good. I'm good"

They take the stairs up, checking apartment numbers. Outside number 23 they pause. Sheldon looks the door over carefully. Under his breath he mutters "Roll to check for traps".

Then he knocks three times, loudly.

"Mrs Prady?"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Mrs Prady?"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Mrs Prady?"

From the closed door a woman's voice shrieks "WHAT!?". The door is jerked open by a short irate blonde woman who stares at them with murder in her eyes "What do you want?"

she asks, struggling to put a tshirt on the squirting child she's holding, a toddler of maybe two or three years old.

"Mellissa Prady?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"You used to be Mellissa Rauch?"

"yes" she answers suspiciously. "What's going on?"

"Do you know someone named is Simon Helberg?"

She's taken aback. "I've not heard that name in years. What's that little rat got to do with me?"

"I'm sorry to say that Mr Helberg is dead."

All the fight drains from her. "Oh. Oh no."

She lets them into the apartment, clearing laundry off a couch so they can sit. She sets the child down and sits heavily. Another child of about the same ago watches them shyly from the bedroom door.

Sheldon puts a copy of the photo down on the table between them.

Mellissa looks at it wistfully. "yeah, that's us. Back in the day we were pretty tight, partying all night" She looks worried "What's this got to do with Simons death?"

"Mr Helberg was murdered" Sheldon points to the figures on the photo in turn "We know Simon is dead. And that Rachel died several years ago of an overdose. We need to find these two, Kevin and this man"

"Travis. That's Travis"

"Does he have a last name?"

"Parsons"

"What happened between you all?"

"It all went sour when they started fighting over Rachel. Travis was obsessed with her but she wasn't that bothered, just wanted to dance and party. Travis was fit but Kevin had the cash and the connections, she dropped Travis soon after that picture was taken. Travis smashed a load of stuff up, would have got into trouble so decided to leave town. He'd always wanted to join the army, said it'd give him a fresh start. "

"Pity Kevin and Rachel didn't last long, only a few months after they got together she started talking about getting serious, settling down. They used to fight all the time about the money and.. well, you know.. the drugs"

"and then she overdosed?"

"yeah, in our place. I was out working shifts, Kevin and Simon found her."

She shudders.

"We need to find Kevin and Travis"

"I've an old address for Kevin you can try, and Travis is in the Marines"

Penny shakes her head "We think he's back in town"

Mellissa pales "Do you think he killed Simon?"

"It's a possibility"

She scrawls an address on the back of an envelope "Try here, or ask in the bar over the street, it was his regular"


	9. Chapter 9

Outside the address they're surprised to see several patrol cars, lights flashing.

heading up, they meet Detective Hofstadter standing in the ruins of an apartment. He gestures at the wreckage. "Let me guess, you came here following your leads to talk to the occupant, Kevin Sussman? neighbours called it in, they heard a violent altercation between two men and smashing furniture. "

"and Mr Sussman?"

"He's through there" Hofstadter gestures to the kitchenette. "Looks like someone gave him a severe beating then finished him off by slamming his head in the refrigerator door"

Sheldon has a rapid look around, asking "And his attacker?"

"Neighbours say they saw a well built man leaving the scene but didn't get too close."

Penny produces the photograph "this man is Travis parsons, ex Marine. Seems his girlfriend left him for Kevin here and overdosed on drugs that Kevin was dealing."

"well, that's certainly motive, now we have to find him"

Sheldon produces his phone "lets head back to 4B, I have an idea".

They grab an Uber back to their appartment.

En route Penny looks round and exclaims "Hold on, we're going the wrong way."

Sheldon nods sadly and addresses the driver "Nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to live for, is there Travis?"

The driver turns, taking off his sunglasses "Ah, you spotted me. "

"Of course. Uber driver is an ideal occupation for someone who needs to get around but hasn't work experience . I take it you've been stalking us, that's why you were nearest when I hailed a cab"

The driver holds up his left hand that's holding an olive drab sphere, his thumb holding down a metal lever on its side.

"Know what this is?"

Sheldon nods "Looks like a m26 offensive grenade. Quite lethal to us all in this confined a space."

"Just so. So toss your guns into the front seat"

Penny glances at Sheldon, tensing. If they can grab hold of that grenade and stop the spoon releasing it won't go off. Sheldon shakes his head slightly at her then replies to Travis "I am unarmed"

Penny sighs and slowly draws her gun and drops it in the front seat.

The driver glances at it, momentarily surprised. "Nice CQB piece. You were expecting trouble?"

Penny shrugs "Always"

Thinking quickly to take control of the conversation, Sheldon asks "so what's your plan now Travis? Both the men responsible for Rachel's death are now dead."

Travis doesn't answer, just steers the car with a grim look on his face.

Sheldon pauses a moment, then understanding dawns "more than responsible, they killed her didn't they? She didn't overdose by accident. there timing is too close to be coincidence, there was a wave of drug related deaths and both Kevin and Simon came into a lot of money soon after"

Travis growls and answers "He confessed, finally. They'd come into a big score, a bunch of foreign guys and a block of heroin that took all their cash to buy, worth a fortune but they got greedy and cut it to hell with all sorts of crazy shit. Rachel was going to turn them in, so they killed her"

They turn a corner and hit a pothole with a bump. The car shifts heavily and Sheldon glances back, a look of sudden dread on his face

"Of course, there is one more who's responsible, isn't there? The police. They arrested Kevin a few days before Rachel's death but couldn't prove anything. "

Travis snarled "He bought them off. "

Sheldon nods "So you want to make them pay. This car is heavy . You have the trunk already packed, I assume with whatever weapons and explosives you've managed to get your hands on. planning a car bombing? "

"I was, but with your ID I can get into the Police station and get the people who really deserve to pay for Rachel's death"

They're driving down run down back streets now, he pulls into a warehouse yard and stops in front of a door, killing the engine.

He gets out, still holding the grenade "get out, slowly, and face the door." While they're facing away he secures the lever on the side of the grenade with a wire clip and draws his gun. "Don't try anything, the grenades away but I have a gun on you" At gunpoint he leads them into the building, past old rusty machinery and half scavenged vehicles draped in tarpaulins. In the middle there are a several decorators lamps illuminating a cluster of decorators tables and a camp bed. One table is a muddle of ration kits , take out cartons and a camping stove, the other a neatly laid out array of weapons.

He gestures for them to sit on the bed.

Sheldon looks round, taking everything in. "Ah, the grenade was an M26A1, it has the distinctive jungle clip on the top to stop the grenade going off if pulled free by vegetation. You have a box full I note, old but still serviceable. I wager you have a friend in the armoury of the National Guard who provided those, no doubt in return for the drugs you stole? "

Travis looks at him in surprise. "how did you know that?"

"I can tell a lot from a man's living habits. From the stack of assault rifle magazines and the grenades I assume you were planning a frontal attack on the police, do as much harm as you can then suicide by cop, going out in a blaze of glory?"

"That was the plan. Now, I could just shoot you both, stop you from interfering. But I have no quarrel with you, you're not even proper cops" He draws a capped syringe from his army jacket pocket, taking the cap off and tapping the syringe.

"This is enough to kill a man, but a smaller dose will just put you out for a few hours, gives me enough time to get my revenge."

Sheldon self consciously rubs his forearms nervously, then starts talking fast.

"Interesting you say you have nothing to live for when the truth is exactly the opposite. You have everything to live for. I assume that as a marine you carried out proper recon on everyone involved, so you observed Melissa and her two children?

Travis nods.

"What you didn't take into account is that juvenile malnourishment stunts a child's growth quite severely. The two children may look the same age but the boy is a year older. No doubt Rachel was a poor example of a mother, especially not knowing if the child was by her current drug dealer boyfriend or from her recently departed Ex. But no doubt she did as best she could as a mother. Mellissa must have helped, that's why she adopted her friends child when she died "

Travis looks at Sheldon shell shocked.

"She had a child? My child?"

Sheldon nods, standing up slowly. he holds one hand by his side, three fingers extended. Penny watches as he folds one away. two fingers. "A DNA test will confirm it but the resemblance is clear. He's your son." One finger extended. then None

Penny explodes off the camp bed, going for the gun held in Travis's hand. They need to control that or the whole fight is over. She gets her right hand around his wrist, pushing so they were out of his line of fire, wrapping her left over his arm so she can bear down with her body weight.

Sheldon moved forward to try and grapple, hoping surprise would give him an advantage.

But stunned parent or not, Marine training took over. Travis stalled Sheldon's lunge with a raised knee that connected with his stomach, knocking the air from his lungs. As Sheldon fell back wheezing Travis stabbed the syringe down hard into her arm, followed with a flurry of punches and elbow strikes that knock her to the ground and sends his gun flying across the room. He cries out in anger and pain, as Penny had twisted the gun as she grabbed it, breaking his trigger finger so it stood out at an unnatural angle. Gritting his teeth he grips his good hand over his fist, squeezing until the crooked finger was back in the shape of a fist.

He looks down at Penny, dazed on the concrete. At the syringe in her arm, plunger down. "You're already dead". He looks at Sheldon, still sat coughing and struggling for breath and shrugs. "May as well leave no loose ends"

he takes a step closer and swings a powerful kick straight at Sheldon's head. Sheldon tries to roll but the kick partially connects, slamming his head back and making him fall heavily to the concrete floor.

Knowing his victim can't fight back He takes a moment to choose where to attack next. In this pause Penny suddenly rises behind him, a wrench from his tools clutched in her right hand. The heavy metal connects just behind his ear, where the skull is thinnest. Bone cracks, but he doesn't fall. As he starts to turn Penny stomps on his knee, a lateral blow that dislocates the joint with a tear of cartilage. He drops to one knee, hands coming up in a boxers guard to protect his head as she swings the wrench again. it strikes his forearm and he lunges forward, instinctively knowing that if she's in range to strike that she's in reach. His hands close on her arm, fighting for the wrench when her left hook slams metal fingers into the flesh of his throat. At that he goes down, choking, then lies still.

Penny goes and gets Travis's gun from under the table and covers his prone form. Then she goes and checks on the battered but breathing Sheldon.

"Well done. I'd make a witty remake but I am in quite a bit of pain"

Penny sits down next to him on the floor, laughing. She has the gun in her right hand, an empty syringe embedded in her prosthetic left arm. " What an afternoon. I'll call the Detective and get us an ambulance"


	10. Chapter 10

Aftermath

Once the hospital gave her a clean bill of health and the police were happy with her statement Penny salvaged her phone and dialled a number from memory.

Twenty minutes later a deliberately nondescript car pulled up outside.

It dropped her outside a similarly plain and ordinary low building in an area of offices for silicon valley tech start ups. The doors opened into an empty lobby, with boards showing company names.

Knowing she was being watched she walked to an unmarked door and keyed in a code.

The door opened with a heavy clunk of hidden bolts.

Inside was a room with a reception desk, where a bored guard looked up from his phone and pointed to a sign in sheet.

She signed and was waved through

"Let's have a look at the damage" the technician says, flipping down a headset of magnifying lenses and lights.

"Nasty tear to the dermis"

"Yeah, someone was trying to kill me with a syringe full of heroin."

"Uh huh." He doesn't even blink at that, which makes her wonder just what sort of crazy are they used to here? He rolls the flesh colour skin sleeve down.

"Dent and Scratch on the battery casing, they must have used some force."

She nods

"Lucky it didn't rupture the battery, lithium cells can explode if damaged." he probes deeper "Mmm. Here is you problem, the fluid got into the control board and shorted it. Lucky we have spares, i can switch that out for you. " He Carefully pulls out a circuit board with narrow nose pliers and replaces it with an identical one from a tray in a padded steel case.

He ponders."If you're going to get this sort of damage we could do with reinforcing you, maybe a ballistic nylon sleeve and aramid plates to fit under the skin layer."

"You're joking, right?"

He just looks at her calmly. He doesn't seem to be joking.

There was a polite knock on the door. "Excuse me?" In the doorway stood a tall statuesque woman in a dark skirt and suit. She was wearing at ID badge with the purple flash across the top that meant a non DARPA Junior consultant

"Can we have the room?"

The techs glanced at each other then stopped what they were doing, carefully putting away things in drawers that they then locked, locking computer screens then filed quietly out

The woman walked over and sat at the table opposite Penny

"Hello Penny."

The name badge on her lapel says "M. Croft." Penny wonders what the M stands for.

"Hello Mysterious stranger. Who are you?"

The woman smiled. "I Just want to go over a few details with you. It was very brave, taking a marine head on like that."

"He'd have killed Sheldon if I hadn't stopped him."

"I saw your record. you have the Silver Star for courage under fire. "

Penny narrows her eyes. "You know a lot about me." She looked the woman over. She was good looking, tall and lean, with the athletic glow of someone with a daily gym routine. She moved with the confidence and balance that said there was some sort of martial art in that routine.

Her suit was expensive and well tailored to fit, tastefully paired with shoes and subtle jewellery that said wealth and taste.

"Overall You smell like a spook."

"Oh really?"

"Your badge is so new I can still smell the plastic laminator. It says you're just a consultant but you can clear a room and separate a senior tech from his baby project? That says high ranking spook to me."

The strange woman smiles . "I can see why he likes you. "

He? She mentally takes a step back. The height, the faint hint of a Texas drawl, something about her face is eerily familiar.

"Ok, just who are you?"

"Oh, Officially I'm with the State Department. When I have to be, I am the Government of the United States. But for now I'm here just acting as a concerned sister. So, What are your intentions towards my brother?"

"Your Brother?! Who the hell is... "

"Sheldon."

Penny bursts out laughing. "Oh My God. I never knew he had a Sister!"

"He doesn't talk much about family?"

"well, I assumed he had one but he never mentioned anyone."

"sounds just like Sheldon"

"Hold on, does that mean you're as crazy and as smart as he is?"

"Oh, He's the smarter one, but he always lacked the knack for real world application"

"And you do? That sounds scary. well, rest assured my intentions as purely honourable, He's strange but a good friend and I'd never do anything to hurt him"

The woman watches her intently for a moment then slowly nods. "I do believe you're telling the truth" She sticks out her hand "I'm Sheldon's sister Melissa, please call me 'Missy' or just 'M'."

Penny shakes her hand "pleasure to meet you."


End file.
